Graves vs Xin Zhao - Matchup Guide | Patch 26.7

YouGraves

EnemyXin Zhao

Win Condition

Win by maintaining higher CS per minute and stacking in every fight. If you have high armor and stay inside his , you will simply out-stat him in the mid-game.

Overview

This is a volatile jungle duel centered on spacing and armor stacks. Xin Zhao wants to stick to you and knock you up, while you want to kite back and stack to out-tank his physical damage. Whoever controls the distance wins the early skirmishes.

Difficulty

Medium

Xin Zhao has a stronger level 3 and can dash from long range if he lands , but your armor stacks make you very hard for him to kill in a sustained fight.

You (Graves)

•Armor stacking with
•Vision denial with
•Burst damage with and
•Kiting potential with knockback

Them (Xin Zhao)

•Heavy physical dive with
•Telegraphed melee combo with
•Sustained healing through
•Isolation and displacement via

Xin Zhao's Abilities

Ability	Threat	What It Means For You
	Low	Heals every 3rd hit. You can't out-sustain him in a long melee slap-fight.
	High	Third hit knocks you up. Use to dash away BEFORE the third hit lands.
	Med	Slays and thrusts. If the thrust hits, it marks you, doubling the range of . Sidestep it!
	Med	A target-click dash. He gets attack speed. Use on yourself the moment he dashes in.
	High	Blocks all damage from outside the circle. You MUST stay inside the circle to hurt him with .

Lane Phase

Lvl 1-5

→Kite your camps aggressively to keep stacks up; having 4-8 stacks makes you unkillable for Xin.
→If Xin starts , he might try a level 2 gank. Ping your lanes and focus on your fast clear.
→Do not facecheck bushes into him. If he gets the jump with before you can kite, you lose half your HP.
→In 2v2s, drop on Xin as soon as he uses . He can't follow up with if he can't see you.

Lvl 6+Power spike

→Xin's is a massive counter to . Never fire your ult from long range; he will just block it.
→In teamfights, wait for Xin to use before you commit your full burst combo.
→You outscale him significantly. If you aren't ahead, focus on farming and counter-jungling with 's fast clear.

Trading Patterns

Safe Poke

Throw to slow him -> the terrain near him -> One auto-attack -> away to reset distance.

Punish

If he misses the thrust of , his range is short. Punish him by kiting at max auto range.

All-in

Stack on a camp/crab first -> on his head -> into close range -> against a wall -> Auto-attacks -> as a finisher inside his circle.

Respect

•
Mark — It lets him dash from massive range. If you get marked, back off immediately.
•
Third Hit — The knockup interrupts your reload and allows his team to follow up.
•
Early Scuttle Duel — If you have 0 stacks, he will win the raw 1v1 at level 3.
•
Zone — Your and long-range autos do zero damage if you are outside the perimeter.

Punish

•
Miss — He has no way to get close. Kite him with autos and knockback.
•
Used on Minion — This is his only gap closer. If he uses it to clear or gap-close a teammate, go aggressive.
•
Xin is Reloading/OOM — Xin has high mana costs. If he's low, he can't sustain the spam.
•
Post-Reload — Wait for his buff to expire (5 seconds), then re-engage while it's on cooldown.

Wave Management

Early

Focus on a full clear. You clear much faster than Xin. If he ganks, steal his opposite side jungle immediately.

Post-6

Help your laners shove to draw Xin out. He excels at picking people off; don't let him find isolated 1v1s in the dark.

AI analysis • Patch 16.7.1 • CachedView Xin Zhao vs Graves

YouGraves

EnemyXin Zhao

Generating matchup guide for Graves vs Xin Zhao...

Analyzing champion abilities and cooldowns...

Ability

Threat

What It Means For You

Low

Heals every 3rd hit. You can't out-sustain him in a long melee slap-fight.

High

Third hit knocks you up. Use to dash away BEFORE the third hit lands.

Med

Slays and thrusts. If the thrust hits, it marks you, doubling the range of . Sidestep it!

Med

A target-click dash. He gets attack speed. Use on yourself the moment he dashes in.

High

Blocks all damage from outside the circle. You MUST stay inside the circle to hurt him with .